Contract with the Sea
by thentheclownlaughed
Summary: Makoto only needed to return for his phone and head back home. Not save a creature who turns out to be a Protector of the humans and sea. Powerless without her taken jewel, the Protector manages to make Makoto agree to a contract; Makoto is then the only one capable of purifying the enemies that lurk in dark waters. MagicalBoy!AU.


In the small town of Iwatobi, a storm had brewed. The sky turned dark with ominous gray clouds, no sheds of sunlight to be seen. Winds picked up in speed as it howled into the late night, the ocean, once a beautiful blue, was now a murky, dull, yet terrifying thing to behold.

The waves that would have calmly lapped at the shore, reached the beach like arms clawing with force onto the sand. No such animals were seen or heard as the storm went on for hours throughout the late night, until, finally, as the sun began to rise (as if from the ocean itself), the storm abruptly stopped. All became quiet.

Suddenly, disturbing the peace, a giant wave appeared from the sea itself, crashing onto the shore with a thunderous wail.

* * *

><p>Laughter echoed throughout the locker room where four swimmers were in the process of changing into their regular uniform. A blonde was gasping for air as he slapped the back of a red spectacled boy who was flushed in embarrassment. A soft chuckle was then heard as a tall and broad browned haired boy pulled his shirt over and onto his head, pulling it down; next to him, another boy with raven hair hummed in amusement.<p>

"Honestly Rei-chan, that was the funniest squeal I've heard in so long!" A pout appeared on the still red-faced male in response.

"W-who wouldn't react like that if someone appeared out of nowhere, only to pull down my swim suit, Nagisa-kun?!" The chatter continued between both males as the brown haired one looked on, absently putting his phone onto the top of the counter he began to lean on, waiting for his black haired companion to finish changing.

Noticing his friend was not paying attention, the tall boy took a chance to look over his friend, best friend, Haru. His eyes began from the top of the males hair, slowly trailing down while watching slight drips of water making their way towards the back of his neck, courtesy of the quick shower they each took to wash off the chlorine.

He continued to watch the trail go from the boys neck toward the boys slightly tanned chest, the drops going down, down, down until they began to disappear into the black and purple swimming jammers the boy sported. He quickly snapped his attention away when he heard his name being called from the door - when had Nagisa and Rei finished changing?

"We're off Makoto, Haru-chan!" Nagisa waved with one hand, the other trying to push Rei out of the door.

"Have a good evening Makoto-senpai, Haru-senpai!" Rei called out, face no longer sporting the red tint from Nagisa's teasing. Makoto smiled, raising a hand in response while Haru tilted his head in silent acknowledgement. With a final shove, Rei was pushed out of the room, Nagisa laughing once again by the loud shout that Rei emitted. After a few minutes the chatter both of them produced faded into silence, leaving only Makoto and Haru alone.

Makoto smiled once again, looking at Haru and said, "Well that was a bit different than usual, Nagisa is getting more creative with how he picks on Rei-kun." A small smile appeared on Haru's face in response,

"I wonder when Rei will realize Nagisa is only doing that for his full and utter attention" Haru replied. Letting out another chuckle, Makoto agreed; it wouldn't be too long before both of them would realize their feelings for each other. Picking up his bag he made his way out of the room, waiting outside of the door while Haru finished changing so they could walk home together - a routine long since had.

Puddles littered the concrete floor wherever he looked, still not having dried from last night's storm. Looking up at the slowly setting sky Makoto released a breath. He had to get his emotions under control, he stared too long at Haru this time, surely the boy himself noticed.

Makoto hoped not. The feelings he's had for his best friend have moved on to something _more _than friendship. Makoto closed his eyes _maybe I've loved him since the first time I met him.. maybe since forever._

"Makoto." Startled, he opened his eyes and turned to look at Haru who ended up beside him. Though Haru was looking at him quizzically, the raven haired boy tilted his head, his way of asking _ready to go?_ Makoto nodded silently, letting a smile come onto his face and began to set the pace for the two of them, chastising himself for trying to sort out his emotions when Haru was _right there_.

As the day slowly turned to night, the two boys made their way home, Makoto chattering about what he thought of practice, then changing the subject to his siblings, laughing as he mentioned what they would be doing on the weekend (going to the aquarium apparently, then asking Haru if he wanted to join them as well, which the raven haired boy took interest in immediately).

Stuffing his hands into the back pocket of his school trousers, Makoto stopped suddenly, Haru pausing in response and turning to look at his friend in concern. Makoto began patting his front pockets then, looked up at Haru "I forgot my phone in the changing room!" he sighed. Standing tall once again, he smiled softly, "You go on home, Haru-chan, I'm going back to get it."

Haru stared at him briefly, took a step forward, "I'm coming with you-"

"That's okay, I'll be fine!" Makoto cut in, smile growing at Haru's concern for him "Besides, it's getting late so you should get on home, and I kinda need it just in case my mom calls, you know how she is." Haru didn't look happy making Makoto walk home without him like they usually did. He shrugged in response after a minute, thinking that things like this happen.

"Be careful, Makoto."

"I will Haru-chan!" Makoto said cheerfully, turning around and making his way back to school. He heard a grunt of _'lay off the -chan!'_ and laughed.

The walk to school was a quiet affair without the sound of footsteps next to him. Makoto let out a slow breath when he reached the gates, entered, and went on his way to the changing room. He shivered. Not only was it quiet, but it was also _dark_ around him. Trying to swallow his fear he thought of his mother and how she would react to learning that he was traveling without his phone and gulped.

He quickly unlocked the door Haru would normally close, stepping in and turned on the lights. He sighed in relief as he was covered in brightness rather than the dark. Looking around for a moment he saw his cellular device sitting innocently on the counter he had leaned onto while the group was changing. Opening it he saw three text messages, the first two were from his mother asking him what was taking so long to get home, the last one was from Haru -

_I told your mom you went back for your phone. Text me when you get home._

Makoto smiled. _Got my phone, about to go home, I'll text you for sure._ He sent it then sent another to his mom, telling her he was on his way and not to worry. Pocketing his phone he began making his way out of the changing room.

Running a hand through his hair, he turned to close the door, then began to walk towards his house as quickly as possible because _wow it was darker than before_. Everything seemed much more scary without someone beside him, he was rarely ever out this late, and when he was, Haru was always with him.

He was already halfway home, walking by the ocean, listening to the waves sway back and forth, wary of his surroundings, when he heard a sound. Jerking, he paused and looked around. He shivered because his first thought was '_monsters!'_ followed by '_oh gosh I'm going to DIE tonight'_. He heard the same sound again and jumped, letting out a squeak that he would deny ever escaped him.

Right as he was about to make a break for it (honestly, running home was what he should've done in the first place, he told himself), he heard a high pitched, panicked yelp. He became concerned immediately, and, after a bit of hesitation, made his way to where he thought he was hearing the noises from.

There was rustling which lead him closer to the beach. He went down the steps that lead to the shore. Taking hesitant steps, he followed the sound of movement, his shoes kicking up sand in the process. Finally, he stopped in front of a rocky hill, sea water clashing onto the giant rocks that held each other up.

Gulping he let out a shaky, "Hello?" and stood still. The rustling stopped for a moment, "A-are you okay over there?" Hearing nothing, he shrugged off his school jacket and backpack, rolled up his sleeved up until his elbows, placed his hands on the smoothest stone, and hoisted himself up, then proceeded to carefully shuffle over towards the other side of the hill.

_What the hell am I even doing?_ he asked himself, _It could be a sea monster! But.. but somebody could be seriously hurt.._ weighing the options, he made up his mind and continued forward until he got to the edge.

Looking down, he saw a small shore littered with trash that came either from the sea or had fluttered down there from the town. Scanning for what made the noise, he saw movement from the corner of his left eye, whipping his head downwards he saw a big fish flopping around in a fish net and gasped.

He quickly made his way down towards it because _how is it still alive, fishes need __**water**_. In his rush, he got scrapes on his hands and smudged wet sand onto his school uniform. Once his feet touched the slightly wet sand, he went and kneeled next to the sea creature. It began to flail around again once Makoto got his hands on the rope.

Trying to release it was a task due to the fishing net being a jumbled mess as to where it started and where it ended. Huffing in slight frustration, Makoto gave up and tried to rip it apart. As the fish continued to flop around, Makoto finally heard a tearing sound and looked down at the strings keeping it together only to see a slight split. Seeing an easy access to get the fish out, he pulled a little harder and _RIIIP_! the net opened, the fish escaping it with a slight jump.

Bundling up the now broken fish net, Makoto held it in his palm and was in the process of getting up when he heard a voice close to him say, "Whew! Thanks for that!" and he screamed.

The net dropped from his hand as he fell back and scrabbled away until his back collided with the hill of rocks, staring at the fish in surprised shock because _who else could be talking?_ "Wait, shit! Hold on! I-I mean, blub blub, I'm a fish! I just- sorry! H-hey! Calm down!" a female voice said, becoming concerned as Makoto tried to scrabble up the hill but failed as he was shaking so hard.

The fish stared at him, no longer flopping around but laying on its side. Makoto now gave up trying to get back over to where it was _safe_ and _not here_ because _holy crap this couldn't be happening!_ And the fish sighed (_sighed!_) before flopping once more, until it sank upright into the wet sand surrounding them both.

"Listen! _Listen!_ Calm down, big boy! Look, uh, what's your favorite animal? Stop shaking and answer me dammit!" it finally yelled as Makoto shut his eyes, crouching into himself as he mumbled something. "What was that?"

"C-c-cats."

"Come-on you need to be more specific here!"

"I like c-cats!" He yelped. The fish quickly thinking as it stared at Makoto until -

"Ah! Felines! Like this right?" and as Makoto opened one eye, it was his turn to stare as, in a watery blur, gone was the fish and there in place of it stood a _tiger_. Makoto screamed again only for the fish- no, _tiger_ to flinch as it let out a whine.

"Can you please stop yelling?! It's hurting my ears here!" it huffed. Makoto breathed deeply and whispered, "smaller."

"Huh?"

"Feline, as in the smaller, cute ones - cats.." The tiger blinked as once again Makoto shut his eyes. With time to think, the tension began to fade between the odd creature and Makoto and, with a clearer mind, the tiger's eyes shined in comprehension as it's body blurred again and shrunk down into the size of a regular housecat. It sighed once more and sat in front of the boy in front of it.

"There we go! When you open your eyes, please, just, don't freak out on me." Squeezing his eyes shut once more, Makoto nodded in agreement and slowly opened them. They both stared at one another, once in awe and the other on appreciation. "Well hot _damn_ you are one good looking boy when you aren't screaming like a sissy!" Makoto blushed, shocked at the comment, yet bashful.

He ran his eyes up and down the cat-like creature (he's calling it a creature because, honestly, what is _it?_), noticing the color of it was a weird type of blue, not a color on any common cat he knew about. Quickly thinking back to its other animal transformations, he realized that both the fish and tiger were also blue in color. Finally resting his eyes on the cat's eyes, he realized with a start how _golden _they were. _What the hell is even happening?_ he thought.

"Who _are_ you?" He finally asked, uncurling from his position, deeming it safe for now as the creature hasn't attacked him yet. The cat regarded him once more before grumbling to itself, quickly looking at the sand it stood on, then it flicked its eyes back to him.

"I am the female protector of the Sea of Japan, Umi. So, Umi of Japan, ha ha ha! Hold on I just realized - wait, that isn't the point!" while the cat was off rambling about its name and how the "_sea is just sea, not even the ocean!"_ Makoto shook his head back and forth.

_'Thi_s _is a dream, oh god, I drowned during practice, I DIED and am experiencing DENIAL and making up things because a PROTECTOR of the sea is in front of me as a CAT, oh god I never told Haru how I felt (not that I would but that's a thought) but what's going on, what's happening?!'_

"Oi! Tall and beautiful, just breathe will you? Don't you start crying! Let me explai-" high pitched ringing broke through the panic both of them were experiencing. Makoto and the she-cat froze as he reached into his back pocket to bring out his phone. Looking at the screen he paled as he read who was calling. His mother. _Oh no_.

He tried to calm his breathing then pressed the 'accept' button, bringing the phone toward his right ear, "H-hello?"

"And _where_ are you? Do you know how late it is, mister? You have school tomorrow-" she paused, "-why do you sound like you just ran?" He gulped, then looked at Umi in front of him whose ears were twitching. She was _amused_, listening to the conversation with her advanced hearing.

When their eyes met, her ears went back and she hissed, _"Don't say a word about me!_ _I'll make sharks get you!"_ Swallowing he turned his attention back to the phone in his hands, answering his mother who was waiting patiently.

"W-well... I was on my way home when I saw this cat that was stuck and went to help it and-" he was cut off immediately.

"Okay, stop right there! Makoto, you better not be bringing any stray cats home!"

"I won't!" He yelped, the stern tone his mother used making him shrink back (although he wasn't anywhere _near _her), "But I had to help it! I'll be on my way soon, I'm just making sure it's fine!" A groan was heard through the phone.

"Oh, alright. But please hurry, I'm worried and I believe Haru is too. Especially since the storm yesterday night, please be careful and watch your step." Makoto's heart squeezed when she mentioned Haru's name, agreeing to what she said and hanging up the phone.

Raising his head he regarded the feline in front of him once again. _Well_, he thought, _at least what I told mom wasn't a _complete_ lie._ The cat smirked at him, getting up from her position on the floor. "So, your name's Makoto? How girly. I like it." He smiled slightly.

"Tachibana Makoto is my full name," he answered politely, bowing in respect, remembering he was in the presence of a _Protector_. He quizzically looked at her, "What.. _are_ you?"

"Tachibana Makoto" she said distractedly, "Tachibana.. Tachi... Bana... Bana... Banana. Banana-kun! That's what I'll call you from now on!" she giggled, "Please get up though, no need to bow. Thank you for helping me! As for your question, you already know my name is Umi, I'm a protector of the seas and people around here. There are many of my kind, that of what you humans call mermaids, well, mer_people_ as there are males as well. Though, that's how we appear to humans, our true forms are much better in my opinion."

Makoto raised a brow, still hardly believing but slowly accepting the weird (and highly crazy) meeting "You protect the sea and humans from what?" Umi paused, playful tone gone as she said seriously,

"There are dangers deep within the sea and ocean. My people have powers that enable us to defeat the black creatures that appear. We've been doing that for centuries, really." Makoto shivered, remembering the incident with the fisherman, his fear of the water and ocean itself looming in the back of his mind.

He straightened himself up, stood, and bowed- he had to get out of there before any other otherworldly things and encounters happened to him. This seemed dangerous and he _knew _it. This was on a different level of weird. Weirder than Nagisa.

"It was an honor to meet you Umi, but I must go now! Helping you was no problem at all, but please be more careful!" he slowly began getting ready to climb back over the rocks, slightly dazed by this encounter. Umi quickly rushed toward him.

"W-wait! You have to let me come with you!" she gasped out, her voice cracking slightly in desperation. Makoto paused, looking down at her, confusion lining his face. Seeing the look on his person, she quickly explained, grabbing at the bottom of his trousers in desperation, "I can't go back into the ocean!"

He crouched down, a concerned frown replacing the confusion, "Why's that? Isn't that where you live? How can you stay on land for so long if you're from the sea?" Umi shook her head.

"The sea water has begun to burn me," she let go of his trousers, staring longingly at the water not too far away from them, "Yesterday's storm was my doing. Well, not only mine, but my sister's as well. We battled and she... defeated me. She took the stone that carries my magic, and so implemented it into herself," Umi looked at Makoto, golden eyes narrowed.

"The stone is a special jewel all protectors have. It goes here" she pointed a paw at her chest, a circular pattern was shaped onto her fur which Makoto never noticed, a darker blue than the rest of her body. "All protectors have the ability to change forms, though we mostly prefer sea creatures, as we very rarely come onto land and so have difficulties changing into the ones that reside here, as you could tell from when I turned into that giant feline.

"But after the battle with my sister, I swam to get away from her, turning into a fish for more speed, letting the waves carry me away only to get caught in that horrible net!" she hissed, "Net's, of any kind, are a weakness of ours. It makes us panic, like fish, and our powers become powerless. I owe you my gratitude for I would've been stuck in there for ages! We can breathe air like humans and can survive without water for a while, even in transformation, but we do need it to live, being around water makes it be better safe than sorry for us!"

Makoto hummed, slowly putting pieces together, "Why would the ocean burn you though?" Umi gazed at him before laughing sadly.

"The water is supposed to accept me as its tamer, its keeper, its _friend_! With the stone it's easier to do, without it, the water has begun to disobey me, treating me like an enemy. It's like it ate something bad and spit it out; in this case, me.

"The salt it carries will burn me. My powers are supposed to _purify_ things, like the dark creatures that attack from below the surface! But in this case, since I am now an enemy, and my sister has my stone, it thinks of me as a _demon_, and so rather than purify and accept, it's trying to _destroy_!

"Regular water will be fine, but water from the sea," here, she huffed, "it _hurts_. If I stay in it for too long, it will begin to make my natural scales fall, crippling me. I am now an enemy to water itself..." her gaze became determined, "but I'll be fine as long as _you_ help me!" Makoto choked on air.

"_Me_?!" Umi nodded, and continued to explain as Makoto proceeded to cough.

"You're a kind soul, and seem very powerful. You need to help me get my stone back, Banana-kun! You can help me purify the sea, the _ocean_!" Done almost choking to death, Makoto sputtered.

"And _how_ am I supposed to do that?!" he asked exasperatingly, "I'm a human! I don't have powers of any kind! I'm sorry, Umi-san, but I can't help you with this."

The cat smiled at him. It wasn't an evil by any means, it was a smile full of faith. Makoto suddenly felt like something important and life changing was about to happen.

"Yes, yes you _can_ help me, Banana-kun. Let's make a contract~!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** And here's the first chapter. Been a while since I've typed anything that wasn't an essay. I just _love_ Makoto and Haru and was inspired about making a Magical Boy type of thing and I know it's been done but I wanted to give it a shot.

With the net thing, I thought of a cartoon I used to watch and how the fairies powers didn't work when caught in a butterfly net lol. Kinda makes sense to add it into the story hee hee.

Any and all mistakes are mine and_ Jeebus_, I've never posted anything on this site before in all the years I've had this account so if anything is weird please let me know.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Free! or anything related to it. Fanfiction is _fan_fiction so I make no money off of it. Blah, blah, blah, ya'll should know the rest.


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